Unemployment Is (Barely) Down

And now for even more reasons to be skeptical about the alleged economic recovery: Unemployment is down, but a smaller share of Americans are in the labor force and many have just given up on trying to find work.

Check it out: The proportion of working-age Americans in the labor force went down in the past month to 63.6 percent which, as the Timesnotes, is the lowest level since 1981.

The number of discouraged workers -- people "not currently looking for work because they believe no jobs are available for them" -- didn't change much from last year: It still hovers at 968,000.

In the Empire State, what appear to be the latest figures put unemployment at 8.7 percent, compared to 8.2 percent for March of last year. In New York City, it has hit 9.8 percent, up from 8.6 percent in March 2011. For jobs, the worst is Bronx County, with 13.6 percent unemployment.